Get Outside! Using Natural Environments to Support College Student Wellbeing: From Research to Practice Featuring Laura Allen, Ph.D. and Courtney Crim, Ed.D.
Laura Allen, PhD is a Professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she has taught since 1994. Her expertise includes child and adolescent development, emerging adulthood, and curriculum development. She is also a certified forest therapy guide trained through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Along with her colleague, Courtney Crim, EdD, she leads an interdisciplinary research team studying the benefits of the natural environment on well-being. Allen and colleagues have published their work internationally and given multiple invited talks, most recently at SA2020, EnVibe podcast, the Texas Children in Nature Network, and Clarity Child Guidance Center. Along with Crim, she co-teaches a course, “The Natural Environment and Well-Being,” where students spend 50% of class time outside in natural settings, conduct their own research to compare to the literature, and develop practices to support their well-being.
Courtney is an Associate Professor at Trinity University and has taught there since 2010. Her expertise includes diverse student populations and differentiated curriculum development. She has also done work designing programs that integrate environmental education via a variety of local, state, and international initiatives. It is this work that contributed to her becoming a certified forest therapy guide trained through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.
Drs. Crim and Allen lead an interdisciplinary research team studying the benefits of the natural environment on well-being. They have published their work internationally and given multiple invited talks, most recently at SA2020, EnVibe podcast, the Texas Children in Nature Network, and Clarity Child Guidance Center. Along with Crim, she co-teaches a course, “The Natural Environment and Well-Being,” where students spend 50% of class time outside in natural settings, conduct their own research to compare to the literature, and develop practices to support their well-being. They have expanded their work integrating the environment and well-being beyond the college campus and into the broader community by establishing Nature Connections and Forest Bathing of San Antonio, where they offer a range of customizable workshops and forest therapy walks for individuals, organizations, and educators.
On October 25, 2022, Laura and Courtney joined us as guest speakers.
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